The Five Most Important Books for Cornel West

The five most important books for Cornel West:

• The Republic by Plato (so much of the most profound thought in the West is a serious wrestling with issues raised by this book)
• The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov (in his great-est play, Chekhov makes deep disappointment our constant companion, yet we prevail)
• Beloved by Toni Morrison (the author looks unflinchingly at the catastrophic with grace and dignity)
• The Prophets by Abraham Joshua Heschel (he lays bare the roles of righteous indignation and indifference in justice)
• In Praise of Folly by Erasmus (he shows how we all, particularly Christians, should try to laugh at ourselves and love others)

(Newsweek)

(A Life in Books)